Shoe and the like.



J. FRANK.

SHOE AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1914.

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' anwwtoz 4004M 70M Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

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$114 Mow/me THE NORRIS PETERS co PHmc-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, D. C

JOHN FRANK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. I

tion.

I Qboll whom it may concern ordinary buttons and button-holes and to tongues on which. are strung buckles adapt- Ced to be ad usted along the tongues and SHOE AND T E I LIKE.

Specificationof Letters Patent,

Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

Application filed J'u1y 20, 1914. Serial No. 851,848. 1

Be it known that I, J OHN FRANK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new, and useful Improvements in Shoes and thelike, of which the following is aspecifica' The invention pertains more particularly to novel meansfor fastening shoes upon the foot of the wearer, the use, of the well-' known buttons and shoe strings being avoided.

My invention is particularly adapted as a substitute for the usual'button and button-holes on shoes, and its purpose is to avoid the inconvenience due to the use of provide fastening means which are readily adjustable to the foot,no inconvenience be ing experienced atany time intightening or loosening the shoe upon the foot.

My invention. is adaptedfor use on what are commonly called high shoes and also on low shoes, and in theaccompanying drawings I illustrate the same as applied to both characters ofshoes. i I I In carrying out my invention I provide on one flap of the shoe aseries of permanently attached knobs or fastenings and on the other flap of the" shoe a'series of clasped thereto at any desired point, said buckles comprising two hinged "together members, the bottom one being. formed with an opening to engage a fastener on the opposite flap of the shoe and the outer member of the buckle preferably beingof ornamental character and adapted when closed down against the tongue on which it is strung, to effect the locking of the buckle to the tongue. The adjustment of the buckle along the tongues permits of the shoe being applied to the foot as tightly or loosely as may be deemed to be comfortable. For high shoes there will be a series of the tongues and buckles provided, and for low shoes one tongue and buckle will prove to be sufficient. In any event the buckles should be of attractive character, because it is one of my purposes that the buckles shall add to the attractive appearance-of the shoe.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, referencepbeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 1s a perspective view of a shoe embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a corresponding View of alow-cut shoe embodying my inventionjl ig. 8 is a detached view of a portion of the shoeshown in Fig. 1, the fastener on one flap of the shoe beingshown and the tongue on the other flap of the shoe with the outer member of the buckle; being turned over against the body of the shoe so I as to expose the lower member of-the buckle ready to be placed upon the said fastener; Fig. 1 is a sectional view on the dotted'line -11 of Fig. 3 of the partsshownin Fi ,3; Fig. 5 isa view corresponding with Fig. 4 but showing the parts as having been fastened together and the buckle and tongue having been turned to their proper position for use, and Fig. 6 is a detached perspec t-iveview offone of the buckles shown in its 2 open position. l i

In the drawings 10 designatesa high shoe of usual character with ,the exception of the ifea-tures' constituting my invention provided thereon.

.11 denotes one side or flap and 12 the other side or flap of the upper of the shoe 10, and the flap 11 is, in accordance" with my invention, provided along its outer edge with a series of fasteners or heads or hooks 14 of the kind, preferably, employed on gloves, plackets and the like. The fasteners 1-1 maybe permanently"applied to the flap of the shoe sincein accordance withmy in:

vention it will not'be necessary to shift the same in adjusting the shoe to the foot. The

flap 12 is formed with a series of tongues 15 each provided with a buckle 16 comprising a lower member 17 which is concealedby the which extendover upon the, flap 1.1 and are 1 p tongue 15 and an outer 111e1nber18 which I may be of any suitable outline but is preferably of ornamental characterL The lower member 17 of each buckle is provided with an eye 19 to hook uponthe fastener 14, and I at its inner edge said lower member 17 is provided with, a serrated flange 20. The outer member'18 of the buckle is secured in a hinged manner by pintles 21'to the lower member .17. The tongues 15 are threaded betweenthe members 18, 17 of the buckles and lie upon theserrated edge 20 of the her of the buckle concealed.

.lower member 17. The buckles may be freely adjusted along the tongues l5 when the upper member of the buckles is turned upwardly in a direction from the outer .end of the lower member of the buckles. The buckles are not, therefore, permanently fastened to the tongues 15, and the owner of shoes equipped with my invention may have several sets of the buckles and wear different sets from time to time as occasion might seem to render desirable.

In the use of my invention when the shoe is placed upon the foot the buckles 16 will be loosened on the tongues 1'5-and the lower member 17 of the buckles will one after another be hooked upon the fastener 14 provided for it, and thereupon the tongue will be drawn tightly through the buckle and the outer member of the buckle turned over against the tongue, this having the efiect of causing the material of the tongue to be pinched between the inner surface of the member 18 and the serrated flange20 of the member 17, the result being that the tongue will be firmly held, theouter member of the buckle exposed and the inner or lower mem- The buckles 16 are all independently adjustable on the tongues 15', and hence the shoe may be drawn to fit the foot of the wearer with entire convenience.

My invention dispenses with the formation of button-holes in the flap 12 and the sewing of buttons upon the flap 11, and particularly dispenses with the inconvenience of having to remove, adjust and replace the buttons on button-shoes of the usual kind.

In'acoordance with my invention the fasteners 14 remain 1n permanent position, and the ad ustment of the shoe to the foo-t 1s made by the buckles and tongues each timeing one of thebuckles 16 thereon, the fastening features shown in Fig. 2 being identical with those shown in Fig. 1 with the exception that in view of thecharacter of the shoe a strap 22 is provided instead of a side orfiap 11, such as shown'in Fig. 1.

I prefer whenever possible to form the tongues 11 integrally with the section 12 of the shoe, since when said tongues are integral with the material of the section 12, they present a better appearance and are in no danger of becoming detached, the appearance of the entire shoe being improved when the tongues 15 are integral with the upper of the shoe.

That I claimas my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A shoe having sections to be closed tener-members and the other acorresponding series of tongues each with a buckle thereon, said buckles each being adjustable on its tongue and comprislng foldable membersadapted when closed toward each other to bind the tongue and the inner member of each buckle having an eye to engage one of the fastener-members.

3. A shoe having sections to be closed upon the foot, one of said sections having along its edge a series of spaced apart fastener-members and the other having integrally therewith a corresponding series of tongues each with a buckle thereon, said buckles each being adjustable on its tongue and comprising foldable members adapted when closed toward each other to bind the tongue and the inner member of each buckle having an eye to engage one of the fastenermembers.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 18th day of July A. D. 1914.

JOHN FRANK.

Vvitnesses ARTHUR MAmoN, CHAS. C. GILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents,

' Washington; D. C. 

